Alchemical studies produced a number of substances, which were later classified as particular chemical compounds or mixtures of compounds.
Many of these terms were in common use into the 20th century.
Metals and metalloids[edit]
- Antimony/Stibnium – Sb
- Bismuth (German: Wismuth) – Bi
- Copper/Cuprum – associated with Venus. Cu
- Gold/Aurum – associated with the Sun. Au
- Iron/Ferrum – associated with Mars. Fe
- Lead/Plumbum – associated with Saturn. Pb
- Quicksilver/Hydrargyrum – associated with Mercury. Hg
- Silver/Argentum – associated with the Moon. Ag
- Tin/Stannum – associated with Jupiter. Sn
Minerals, stones, and pigments[edit]
- Bluestone – mineral form of copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate, also called blue vitriol.
- Borax – sodium borate; was also used to refer to other related minerals.
- Cadmia/Tuttia/Tutty – probably zinc carbonate.
- Calamine – zinc carbonate.
- Calomel/Horn Quicksilver/horn mercury – mercury(I) chloride, a very poisonous purgative formed by subliming a mixture of mercuric chloride and metallic mercury, triturated in a mortar and heated in an iron pot. The crust formed on the lid was ground to powder and boiled with water to remove the calomel.
- Calx – calcium oxide; was also used to refer to other metal oxides.
- Chalcanthum – the residue produced by strongly roasting blue vitriol (copper sulfate); it is composed mostly of cupric oxide.
- Chalk – a rock composed of porous biogenic calcium carbonate. CaCO3
- Chrome green – chromic oxide and cobalt oxide.
- Chrome orange – chrome yellow and chrome red.
- Chrome red – basic lead chromate – PbCrO4+PbO
- Chrome yellow/Paris Yellow/Leipzig Yellow – lead chromate, PbCrO4
- Cinnabar/Vermilion – refers to several substances, among them: mercury(II) sulfide (HgS), or native vermilion (the common ore of mercury).
- Copper Glance – copper(I) sulfide ore.
- Cuprite – copper(I) oxide ore.
- Dutch White – a pigment, formed from one part of white lead to three of barium sulfate. BaSO4
- Flowers of antimony – antimony trioxide, formed by roasting stibnite at high temperature and condensing the white fumes that form. Sb2O3
- Fool's gold – a mineral, iron disulfide or pyrite; can form oil of vitriol on contact with water and air.
- Fulminating silver – principally, silver nitride, formed by dissolving silver(I) oxide in ammonia. Very explosive when dry.
- Fulminating gold – a number of gold based explosives which "fulminate", or detonate easily.
- – gold hydrazide, formed by adding ammonia to the auric hydroxide. When dry, can explode on concussion.
- – an unstable gold carbonate formed by precipitation by potash from gold dissolved in aqua regia.
- Galena – lead(II) sulfide. Lead ore.
- Glass of antimony – impure antimony tetroxide, SbO4 formed by roasting stibnite. A yellow pigment for glass and porcelain.
- Gypsum – a mineral; calcium sulfate. CaSO4
- Horn Silver/Argentum Cornu – a weathered form of chlorargyrite, an ore of silver chloride.
- Luna cornea – silver chloride, formed by heating horn silver till it liquefies and then cooling.
- King's yellow – formed by mixing orpiment with white arsenic.
- Lapis solaris (Bologna stone) – barium sulfide – 1603, Vincenzo Cascariolo.
- Lead fume – lead oxide, found in flues at lead smelters.
- Lime/Quicklime (Burnt Lime)/Calx Viva/Unslaked Lime – calcium oxide, formed by calcining limestone
- Slaked Lime – calcium hydroxide. Ca(OH)2
- Marcasite – a mineral; iron disulfide. In moist air it turns into green vitriol, FeSO4.
- Massicot – lead monoxide. PbO
- Litharge – lead monoxide, formed by fusing and powdering massicot.
- Minium/Red Lead – trilead tetroxide, Pb3O4; formed by roasting litharge in air.
- Naples yellow/Cassel yellow – oxychloride of lead, formed by heating litharge with sal ammoniac.
- Mercurius praecipitatus – red mercuric oxide.
- Mosaic gold – stannic sulfide, formed by heating a mixture of tin filings, sulfur, and sal-ammoniac.
- Orpiment – arsenic trisulfide, an ore of arsenic.
- Pearl white – bismuth nitrate, BiNO3
- Philosophers' Wool/nix alba (white snow)/Zinc White – zinc oxide, formed by burning zinc in air, used as a pigment
- Plumbago – a mineral, graphite; not discovered in pure form until 1564
- Powder of Algaroth – antimony oxychloride, formed by precipitation when a solution of butter of antimony and spirit of salt is poured into water.
- Purple of Cassius – formed by precipitating a mixture of gold, stannous and stannic chlorides, with alkali. Used for glass coloring
- Realgar – arsenic disulfide, an ore of arsenic.
- Regulus of antimony
- Resin of copper – copper(I) chloride (cuprous chloride), formed by heating copper with corrosive sublimate.
- Rouge/Crocus/Colcothar – ferric oxide, formed by burning green vitriol in air.
- Stibnite – antimony or antimony trisulfide, ore of antimony.
- Turpeth mineral – hydrolysed form of mercury(II) sulfate.
- Verdigris – Carbonate of Copper or (more recently) copper(II) acetate. The carbonate is formed by weathering copper. The acetate is formed by vinegar acting on copper. One version was used as a green pigment.
- White arsenic – arsenious oxide, formed by sublimating arsenical soot from the roasting ovens.
- White lead – carbonate of lead, a toxic pigment, produced by corroding stacks of lead plates with dilute vinegar beneath a heap of moistened wood shavings. (replaced by blanc fixe & lithopone)
- Venetian White – formed from equal parts of white lead and barium sulfate.
- Zaffre – impure cobalt arsenate, formed after roasting cobalt ore.
- Zinc Blende – zinc sulfide.
Salts[edit]
- Glauber's salt – sodium sulfate. Na2SO4
- Sal alembroth – salt composed of chlorides of ammonium and mercury.
- Sal ammoniac – ammonium chloride.
- Sal petrae (Med. Latin: "stone salt")/Salt of Petra/Saltpetre/Nitrate of potash – potassium nitrate, KNO3, typically mined from covered dungheaps.
- Salt/Common salt – A mineral; sodium chloride, NaCl, formed by evaporating seawater (impure form).
- Salt of tartar – potassium carbonate; also called potash.
- Salt of hartshorn/Sal volatile – ammonium carbonate formed by distilling bones and horns.
- Tin salt – hydrated stannous chloride; see also spiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.
Vitriols[edit]
- Blue vitriol – copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate.
- Green vitriol – a mineral; iron(II) sulfate heptahydrate. (or ferrous sulfate)
- Red vitriol - cobalt sulfate.[1]
- Sweet vitriol – diethyl ether. It could be made by mixing oil of vitriol with spirit of wine and heating it.[2]
- White vitriol – zinc sulfate, formed by lixiviating roasted zinc blende.
Waters, oils and spirits[edit]
- Aqua fortis/spirit of nitre – nitric acid, formed by 2 parts saltpetre in 1 part (pure) oil of vitriol (sulfuric acid). (Historically, this process could not have been used, as 98% oil of vitriol was not available.)
- Aqua ragia/Spirit of turpentine/Oil of turpentine/Gum turpentine – turpentine, formed by the distillation of pine tree resin.
- Aqua regia (Latin: "royal water") – a mixture of aqua fortis and spirit of salt.
- Aqua tofani – arsenic trioxide, As2O3 (extremely poisonous)
- Aqua vitae/aqua vita/Spirit of Wine, ardent spirits – ethanol, formed by distilling wine[2]
- Butter (or oil) of antimony – antimony trichloride. Formed by distilling roasted stibnite with corrosive sublimate, or dissolving stibnite in hot concentrated hydrochloric acid and distilling. SbCl3
- Butter of tin – hydrated tin(IV) chloride; see also spiritus fumans, another chloride of tin.
- Oil of tartar – concentrated potassium carbonate, K2CO3 solution
- Oil of tartar per deliquium – potassium carbonate dissolved in the water which its extracts from the air.
- Oil of vitriol/Spirit of vitriol – sulfuric acid, a weak version can be formed by heating green vitriol and blue vitriol. H2SO4
- Spirit of box/Pyroxylic spirit – methanol, CH3OH, distilled wood alcohol.
- Spiritus fumans – stannic chloride, formed by distilling tin with corrosive sublimate.
- Spirit of hartshorn – ammonia, formed by the decomposition of sal-ammoniac by unslaked lime.
- Spirit of salt/Acidum salis – the liquid form of hydrochloric acid (also called muriatic acid), formed by mixing common salt with oil of vitriol.
- Marine acid air – gaseous form of hydrochloric acid.
Others[edit]
- Alkahest – universal solvent.
- Azoth – initially this referred to a supposed universal solvent but later became another name for Mercury.
- Bitumen – highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum.
- Blende
- Brimstone – sulfur
- Flowers of sulfur – formed by distilling sulfur.
- Caustic potash/Caustic wood alkali – potassium hydroxide, formed by adding lime to potash
- Caustic Soda/Caustic marine alkali – sodium hydroxide, NaOH, formed by adding lime to natron.
- Caustic volatile alkali – ammonium hydroxide.
- Corrosive sublimate – mercuric chloride, formed by subliming mercury, calcined green vitriol, common salt, and nitre.
- Gum Arabic – gum from the acacia tree.
- Liver of sulfur – formed by fusing[clarification needed] potash and sulfur.
- Lunar caustic/lapis infernalis – silver nitrate, formed by dissolving silver in aqua fortis and evaporating.
- Lye – potash in a water solution, formed by leaching wood ashes.
- Potash – potassium carbonate, formed by evaporating lye; also called salt of tartar. K2CO3
- Pearlash – formed by baking potash in a kiln.
- Milk of sulfur (lac sulphuris) – formed by adding an acid to thion hudor (lime sulfur).
- Natron/Soda Ash/Soda – sodium carbonate. Na2CO3
- Nitrum flammans – ammonium nitrate.
- Sugar of Lead – lead(II) acetate, formed by dissolving lead oxide in vinegar.
- Thion hudor – lime sulfur, formed by boiling flowers of sulfur with slaked lime.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Vitriol | chemical compound | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 18 August 2023.
- ^ a b Gray, Theodore (2014). Molecules. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 27–31. ISBN 978-1-60376-396-7.
External links[edit]
- Eklund, Jon (1975). The Incompleat Chymist: Being an Essay on the Eighteenth-Century Chemist in His Laboratory, with a Dictionary of Obsolete Chemical Terms of the Period (Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, Number 33). Smithsonian Institute Press.
- Giunta, Carmen. Glossary of Archaic Chemical Terms: Introduction and Part I (A-B). Classic Chemistry.
- Giunta, Carmen. A Dictionary of the New Chymical Nomenclature. Classic Chemistry. Based on Guyton de Morveau, Louis Bernard; Lavoisier, Antoine; Bertholet, Claude-Louis; Fourcroy, Antoine-François de (1788) [1787]. Method of Chymical Nomenclature. Translated by St. John, James. pp. 105-176.
